Chapter 3-The things we've left in the past
The wind whistled through the shack that Chloe was sleeping in. The cold air seeped almost everywhere during the nights that followed since the incident. As Max lay sound asleep next to her, Chloe wrestled back and forth as her mind was plagued with the nightmare she couldn't stop having. The room was silent; the only noises being Brooke's faint snoring and Chloe's staggered breaths as her mind tortured her.
Darkness filled the room as well as Chloe's mind. The nights were always the time when the group was the most vulnerable and so was Chloe's mind. Sweat dripped down her face as she rolled around on her makeshift mattress, her hands twitching in all manner of directions. Her blue hair was bedraggled as she tossed and turned into the night, hoping to escape the torture that was her mind.
Anyone would think she was dreaming about the horrors that lurked outside but that was not the case. She was belting her demons, the ones that she knew all too well. Ever since the accident in the Arcadia Bay Super Shopping Mart, where Chloe saw Aaron and Kate for the last time. Even though she had moved on, her mind had not.
August 12th, 2015-Wednesday 10:37am
Chloe took a long drag of her cigarette before flicking the butt to the floor and extinguishing it with her boot. She adjusted her trademark beanie before stepping inside the old Arcadia Bay Super Shopping Mart with the rest of her group. Max waited for her against the doorframe and walked alongside her when she entered. The smell of damp and mould of the old store hit Chloe immediately as she scrunched her face up in an effort to block out the unpleasant smell. The white walls had begun peeling as well as the isles being blocked off by fallen shelving. It was the picture of Post Apocalypse.
The two approached Aaron and David as they looked at a map of the store while muttering incoherently amongst themselves. Aaron held it in both hands as David illuminated it with his torch due to the lack of lights in the store, even the backup generators had started to fail. The only source of lighting was a few wall lights and the odd strobe light hanging by a wire or two.
Aaron turned around to look at the two girls as they approached to make sure it was indeed them and no one sneaking up on them. It all happened in slow motion as his head turned around. He looked just like Chloe remembered him; His black hair covering most of his forehead, stopping just before his right eye and the top off his ears. Those blue eyes that could pierce your very soul, his face had become thinner since the incident but that only made his cheekbones stand out more. He smiled when he realised it was his friends; that cheeky as fuck smile that could make anyone feel better if they needed to as well as a jawline that was so sharp, it could probably cut a Roamers head off.
Even his clothes were the same; as he turned back, Chloe could see the furry hood of his grey parka. The red waterproof trousers that covered his blue jogging bottoms ran all the way down to the ankles of his tanned hiking boots that were caked with mud. His AK47 was still slung over his right shoulder as he read the map. It was like Chloe was reliving it all over again except she couldn't move or do anything and that made it worse.
Chloe stood behind the two men as Max walked over to Kate who was off to the right of the group. She was kneeling down, looking at an old teddy bear that was lying in the grime and filth of the floor. Max placed her hand on Kate's shoulder as she stood up. Chloe could see the despair in her eyes as she hugged Max tightly, Kate was never the same since the incident. She always found herself upset over the little things that reminded her that all the purity was gone from the world.
Chloe's heart ached as she got another look at Kate when Max walked away. Again, everything seemed to go in slow motion as Chloe's dream-self stared at her. Kate was able to maintain her hairstyle through everything and Chloe was impressed. Her dirty blonde hair brought colour to her faded, stained white parka that she wore. Her black leggings were tucked into a pair of purple bed socks that stuck out of the top of her black Doc Martin boots. Aaron had bought them for her birthday and it was a reminder to her that there were still good people out there. She never carried a weapon; she couldn't bring herself to kill anyone. Her religious views stayed strong, shaken, but strong. She had Aaron to look after her anyway, he loved her so much that nothing stood a chance of hurting her.
"Ok everyone" David's voice brought Chloe back to full speed. "We need to hit the back of the store. If Shane's recon was correct, nobody has been able to get that far due to the debris in the way" everyone had congregated in front of him as he explained the situation "Chloe, I want you watching the door; melee weapons only, any noise could bring the whole place down on us"
Chloe nodded and pulled a hammer off of her waist.
"Any ugly fucker that comes near me is gonna meet mister claw" She jested as she spun the hammer around in her hand.
"Max, I want you to take Kate up these aisles on our right, see if there's anything you can find. There should be a pharmacy at the back of the store"
Max nodded as she holstered her 9mm glock 17 before gesturing the way to Kate that they would take.
"Aaron, you'll come with me up the back; I'll sweep, you clean. When we get to the back of the store, I'll need your help with all the shit that's blocking us off"
Aaron unslung his AK as he walked over to Kate and kissed her on the forehead.
"Be careful, I'll see you soon" his tone was different than the charismatic boy Chloe met a year ago. He was a lot dryer and softly spoken now. He still cracked jokes, just not as much as he used to. "Good luck, Price, I don't wanna get bit in the ass" he said as he touched knuckles with Chloe.
"Relax skinny, I got your back" Chloe replied as their knuckles parted.
"Ok, you all know what you need to do so let's make this quick and clean and be back home in time for Joyce's delicious burgers" David called out as the group went about their tasks.
Chloe lurked by the door, hammer in hand. She was telling her dream self to just stay by the door, not to move. She had one job and every part of her being was yearning at her to just stay put. Chloe wasn't like that, she got bored fairly easy and in a place like this, there was an abundance of things to look at.
The seconds passed to minutes and the sounds of her group rummaging around the store had fallen silent. They were too far away for her to hear any form of noise, just the occasional dropping of something. She was bored of counting how many panels were in a row before there was a break in one of them. So far she had only gotten to three whole panels before there was a problem with one of them. Whether it be mouldy paint, peeling paint or a hole in it, Chloe had seen them all. She was getting bored so she started to wander along the isle by the door. Most of the things had been taken off of the shelf but there were a few menial items left in the muck as she walked passed them.
Stopping halfway up the first isle, Chloe kneeled down on the floor and picked up and old box. It was faded white with blue and red paint along the border and a series of yellow, green and red mosaics on the four panels. The small winding handle gave it away as a Jack-in-the-Box and Chloe began to wind it up slowly, almost as if she didn't know what was going to happen.
She was telling her dream self to put it down and turn around; Aaron and Kate's lives depended on it. She was so busy with the toy that she didn't see the Roamer sneak in behind her. Blood dripping from its rotting mouth as it snarled before edging its way through the door. Its faded baggy clothes clung to its body as it inched closer and closer to Chloe.
The Jack-in-the-Box finally popped, causing Chloe to smile…but it didn't last. Seconds later, firm hands placed themselves on her shoulder and yanked her backwards, sending her hunting rifle flying off of her shoulder. Her shriek filled the air as she slid across the stained floor before the Roamer threw himself on her. Chloe quickly held her arms up in a desperate effort to keep the thing from biting her. Its top lip had rotted away, leaving a wide array of gnashing teeth on display as blood from its mouth sprayed everywhere.
The crazed, bloodshot eyes were eating away at her soul as she struggled to keep this creature off of her. Her hands were too busy holding the weight of the roamer off, stopping her from reaching for the claw hammer on her belt. It didn't matter, her hands were getting tired and she could feel that the end would come. She wished she had died then and there, rather than live with the guilt.
Just as Chloe's strength was about to leave her, David's boot finds the side of the Roamers head, causing it to fly off of Chloe. As the thing lay on its back, David sends a slug into its heard from his shotgun, causing what was inside to now be all over the outside. Chloe gasped for air as Aaron helped her up. The disappointed look on David's face changed to worry as load shrieks filled the air. The Roamers knew where they were and they were coming.
That's why Chloe was supposed to use the hammer if any Roamers appeared in the store, lack of noise to minimize the amount of attention they would bring to themselves. That gunshot would have attracted every Roamer for miles and they were all heading straight for the Arcadia Bay Super Shopping Mart.
"Run, now!" David bellowed as he turned to face the group, causing everyone to run to the back of the store.
"David, we need a way out!" Max called as they reached the rubble Aaron and David had been working to clear.
"We'll buy you time, get to the fire exit!" David called as he stopped running. He and Aaron stood next to each other in between two isles as they readied their weapons.
Their hearts were pumping as adrenaline surged through them, they were gonna be met with very unpleasant faces. As the first Roamer appeared in their line of sight, David shot it dead. More and more filtered through the aisles, trying to reach the group. The sound of gunfire and roars of the Roamers echoed throughout the store as Aaron and David held the line.
"I'm moving back, cover me!" Aaron yelled as he turned and ran back twenty metres or so. He stopped and loaded a fresh magazine into his AK before shouting "Now David!" and beginning to fire at the mass of infected in front of him.
David ran to join Aaron as he loaded fresh shells into his shotgun. The roamers were bloodthirsty, like they were possessed. They could hear aisles crashing down around them as the Roamers jammed each other together to try and get closer to the group of people.
"David, up there!" Aaron called out as he displaced for the second time. Roamers had found their way on top of the roof and were dropping in through holes in the ceiling.
The two men were at the pharmacy at the back of the store, the counter blocking their retreat any further. To their right, Max and Chloe had cleared the rubble and were working on opening the fire exit door. The snarls of the Roamers sounded louder and closer, Aaron and David really felt the pressure as they tried to keep them back.
"It's open, come on!" Max shouted from her position by the door.
As they turned to run, Chloe could be heard calling: "Wait, where's Kate?" Chloe's consciousness knew where she was and she knew how it was her fault. She knew that she had cost her and Aaron their lives.
Horror filled Aaron's mind as he looked around for her, while shooting the Roamers that were now oozing from all sides of the store.
"I'm here!" a voice cried from the pharmacy. "I'm stuck, the cart fell on me" She sounded desperate and was clearly panicking.
Aaron went to jump over the counter when he could here David say: "What the hell are you doing?"
"She needs my help, just go!" Aaron shouted back, over the sound of gunfire as he climbed over the counter.
"You better be right behind me!" David reluctantly shouted as he left Aaron and made his way to the exit.
David sprinted to the exit, doing his best not to look at the Roamers that were catching up to him. He could see Max and Chloe in front of him, shooting the pursuing Roamers in an effort to cover him.
He crashed through the door as Max and Chloe followed behind. As David shoved the door closed, Chloe tried to keep it open.
"We need to wait for Aaron and Kate!" She protested as she placed her hands on the handle.
Before anyone could say anything, an explosion rocked their heads as fire and debris could be seen blocking the fire exit.
"We need to go, NOW!" David shouted as he turned to run away. He was shocked, the thought of the two kids being trapped in that burning, infested hell hole affected him but he knew they had to leave before more Roamers turned up.
Chloe tried to fight passed him: "We can't just leave them, we have to do something!"
"They're gone Chloe, there's nothing we can do" David replied as he worked with Max to hold her back.
The last thing Max wanted to do was disagree with Chloe but she'd rather have Chloe kick and scream but still be alive to hate her for it later
As ash fell from the grey sky, Chloe Price screamed as she fought to save her friends. Tears ran down her cheeks as she crashed to her knees. The guilt was eating her as she watched the store get further and further away. She was no match for Max and David and was dragged away from the burning door as she cursed and screamed the heavens down. Her heart and mind plagued with guilt as she was hopelessly dragged away.
"NO!" Chloe bellowed as she shot up from her bed. She was covered in sweat and panting so fast, she could pass out.
The nightmare was over and she was met by Max looking her in the eye as she caressed her shoulders. Brooke, Dana and Juliet had also been woken up by the noise Chloe was making and were all staring at her. This was the third time she had this nightmare. Each time ended up with her waking up in a cold sweat, nearly breathless and each time, Max was there to comfort her.
"Chloe, it's ok, it's over" max said in a hush, comforting tone as she wrapped her arms around Chloe, pulling her into an embrace.
"Chloe let out a sigh of relief and returned the hug. It was over and she was thankful for that but she still couldn't forgive herself for what she did.
That was the hardest part about the end of the world, you lose the ones you love and care about. It's all a part of how everything went nowadays and it killed Chloe to know she was responsible. Without Max's support, Chloe would have had a hard time finding a reason to carry on, to live with the guilt. She was a survivor; she shouldn't still be here but for some divine reasons, she still was. That was the hardest part of still being alive, living with the pain of everything that has happened and everything you've done. Don't pray for the dead, they're work is done.
The damp air hung around Nathan as he trudged through the forest. The rain had stopped while he was scavenging and now the bleak, wet outside was ahead of him. Zach and Victoria followed closely behind as the navigated the lifeless trees of the woodland area they were walking through. Zach had a large hiking bag on his back where the scavenged supplies were placed in, his strong build made him the optimal pack mule for the group. He still wore his casual clothes, even with his sleeves rolled up on his striped hoodie. The cold didn't affect Zach as much as it affected everyone else.
Nathan had a regular blue rucksack where he carried a lighter share of the scavenge as well as supplies for himself such as food and water. His browny-yellow raincoat blended in with the forest and despite not being very thick, he was warm due to the thermal clothing he had on underneath his red jumper and blue jeans. Rather than opt for sensible hiking boots, Nathan wore his usual trainers. He didn't go outside much so he didn't see the need for them. He held his M9 Beretta tightly in his right hand as he moved. He was slightly paranoid before everything went to shit so now he was even worse.
Victoria was disgusted at the idea of yomping around the forest and spending all this time in the muck and filth. Her small tanned rucksack remained fairly empty as she let the boys do most of the heavy lifting. She wore a black fleece with a lilac scarf around her neck on her upper body and a pair of black leggings tucked into yellow socks and a pair of brown leathered hiking boots. She didn't expect it to be as cold as it was and her thin frame made it seem like she wasn't wearing anything. She knew Nathan needed to take his mind off of what happened with Haden so she'd be there for him regardless.
"Nathan, how long until we'll get back, my feet are starting to hurt" Victoria complained as she ducked under a decaying branch.
"Not long, we just need to get out of the woods and we'll be on the main road" Nathan replied, not taking his eyes off of the path ahead. "The walk to the school is a long one, but worth it. Wells comes through"
Nathan had a cosy little deal going on with the survivors that had holed up in the ruins of Blackwell Academy. He would take supplies off of Principle Wells and give him money in return. Nathan was smart and knew Wells had a greedy side, just like everyone in Arcadia Bay. No one could resist Prescott money and with some honeyed words from Nathan, Wells accepted the deal. Nathan managed to convince him that when they finally get free from the horror that is going on, Wells would have enough money to retire the money didn't do him any good right now. Nathan had to hope he would take the deal and persevere until it was all over.
The things that really mattered were food, water and bullets and Nathan knew tempting Wells' greedy side would make him have the better of the deal. Nathan would make the money back and stay alive to see his back accounts grow thanks to all the supplies they had essentially gotten for nothing. Money couldn't help you make it through the end of the world.
Zach stopped as they approached the edge of the forest, prompting the others to stop as well.
"What is it man, what do you see?" Nathan asked as he held his left hand out to signal Victoria to get close to him.
"Roamers, at least six of them" Zach responded before turning to face Nathan. "We'll need to find another way out, we can't risk taking them head on.
Zach was right; there were too many for them to try and dispatch silently and the noise of gunfire would attract more Roamers. They'd need to find another way out of the forest.
As Nathan processed the situation, he looked at the decaying trees around him. The scorched black bark looked far older than what the trees actually were and the washed yellow leafs were only present on some branches. They had been trying to grow back but how do you come back from this?
He thought of what everything was like before, who he was with before and how he yearned for it to be like that again. He knew the only way out that would be relatively safe would lead them on a detour but it was something he needed to do. There was someone he needed to see.
"Head east, we can come out on 5th and make our way up the central strip and circle around from there" Nathan announced as he looked at Zach.
"You sure, that will take us an extra 2 hours?" Zach replied as Victoria let out a quiet moan of annoyance.
"I don't fancy getting eaten, let's go!" Nathan ordered as he walked past Zach. He had made up his mind and he didn't care if they came or not.
Chloe exhaled as she took a drag of the cigarette that was resting comfortably in her left hand. She had been on edge all day since her nightmare and had spent the last three hours sitting under the parasol on top of the two whale's diner. Max had constantly been checking on her, making sure she was ok and that she had everything she needed but all Chloe wanted to do was be alone with her thoughts and admire the ash that was falling on the town around her.
The rain wasn't so pleasant to look at and even though it had stopped an hour ago, the ground was still wet and Chloe didn't find it as soothing as she did the ash. She knew she had to let go but after reliving it all over again, she just wanted to curl up and die. How do you live with yourself, knowing you caused two of your friends to die?!
"Hey, how you doing?" Brooke called out as she walked through the door that lead to the roof.
"Thinking" Chloe bluntly replied as she continued looking forward.
"You're pissing me off, you're the nutty Chloe Price, I hate seeing you all…dead like this" Brooke said as she stood next to Chloe.
Chloe just sighed as she looked down: "I know but-." Chloe tried to speak but Brooke, cut her off.
"No but's, come on Chloe, at least go and see Max, she's worried about you and you owe it to her for looking after you"
Brooke's argument was pretty convincing, Chloe did really want to see Max and figured it would do her some good as well as seeing what everyone at the diner was getting on with
Warren was with Shane on the walls of the diner; the two had been going over their daily lessons on shooting while David had a sit down with Kyle inside the diner to discuss guarding the wall. Warren wasn't trying to become some bad ass, he just wanted to help out a bit more.
It was different with Kyle and David; Shane and David needed the help and he was the oldest guy there. He welcomed the lessons as it would only benefit him in the long run as well as keep his brother safe. Kyle had a form of jitters whenever he did things like this; he was never big on violence.
David had been talking about what he would need to do when patrolling the wall and what to look out for. Going on supply runs was different from patrolling the wall so Kyle needed to know when to switch between the two and apply himself correctly. So far he had learned about what to do if he saw people he didn't know and what to do if people he didn't know approached. Today he would learn what to do in the event Roamers were spotted.
They were lucky in the fact that no Roamers bothered to attack them. Some had ventured over from time to time but never any hoard or large number. Their biggest problem was other people; people who would kill them for what they had as well as how secure they were. It's such a shame how in a scenario where humans should be banding together, they're so scared that they're killing each other over scraps of food or a place to sleep.
"Hey, we got people out here!" David and Kyle could hear Shane calling from outside. The two picked up their weapons and headed to see what was going on.
As they emerged from the diner, everyone was gathered in small huddles, waiting to see what was going on. David and Kyle climbed up the makeshift staircase to see who or what was at their walls and they were shocked when they saw a tired Nathan Prescott looking back at them who looked like he had something to say.
A/N:-Ok, I'm sorry for this chapter being a little short, I just wanted to move onto the actual horror element that this story is about. Please be patient, the first few chapters are gonna be slow as everything is set up but the horror and unpleasantries will come.
I've had a few people asking about Aaron and Kate so I thought that I would show you what happened in a form of a nightmare that Chloe suffers from. Make your own decisions about what happened to them and wait to find out if you're right or wrong.
As you read the last part of this chapter (the part that starts with Brooke and Chloe) I'd recommend listening to Safe Place by Capsize in the background as that was the song that came on while I was proof reading. It wasn't what I was listening to as I wrote but hearing it set the tone and made everything feel so different. I would seriously recommend doing that when you get to that part of the story.
Please give me more feedback on what you think about how the style of this is going and let me know if there is anything you want me to change it keep the same. A Review, PM, Follow and Favourite is immensely appreciated and I cannot thank you enough!